When looking for a new member of staff to care for your children it is key to understand the difference between a Nanny and a Nanny Housekeeper. Both will care for your children but the other duties they under take are very different. Join us as we explore your options in this article.
Duties both a Nanny and a Nanny/Housekeeper Undertake
- Care for the children generally
- Organise activities or the children
- Undertake the school or nursery run
- Do the children’s laundry and ironing
- Tidy up and keep clean the children’s bedroom and play area
- Cook for the children and tidy up the kitchen after themselves
- Ensure the children have what they need for school or nursery the next day, uniform and kit is ready
- Run child related errands
- Take the children to hairdresser, dentist, doctor and other appointments.
- Take the children to after school activities such as sports clubs and music lessons
Duties a Nanny/Housekeeper will Undertake in Addition to the Above
These duties are often undertaken when the children are at school or nursery or whilst with the children, but always ensuring the children are suitably supervised and safe. Families with small children at home full time should consider if there is suitable time in the day for a nanny housekeeper to realistically care for the whole home as well as a small infant. For families with small children one option may be to employ a part time housekeeper who comes in once or twice a week to support the nanny housekeeper and is focused on deep cleaning.
- Laundry and ironing for the whole family
- Deep cleaning of the whole family home, dusting, vacuuming, mopping
- Cleaning bathrooms and toilets
- Tidying up the whole house
- Cleaning the kitchen
- Doing the family grocery shop
- Some will also cook for the whole family an evening meal
- Run errands for the family
What Does a Nanny Offer Over a Nanny Housekeeper?
A pure nanny will be solely focused on your children, caring for their day to day needs and helping them grow and explore the world around them. Helping them grow and develop. They may well be a specialist in a particular area, such as the earlier years, sleep training. Or they may speak a second language and are able to help the children develop a bilingual skillset. Or have special educational needs support training, they may be a specialist in primary education. Nannies are very often highly skilled individuals focused on your child’s own specific needs and are able to work with your child, providing suitable activities and stimulation to help them grow and develop.
Salary
Is there a difference in salary between a nanny and a nanny housekeeper? It really depends on the type of nanny you are looking for and the hours you are looking for them to work. A super nanny or skilled special educational needs nanny is going to be more expensive than an entry-level less experienced nanny or nanny housekeeper. Polo & Tweed have put together some useful salary guidelines which you can view by clicking on the links below.
- Nanny housekeepers – here
- Live in nanny – here
- Live out nanny – here
- Super nanny – here
- Special educational needs nanny –here
Finding the Right Person
It is quite common for a family to have a nanny when the children are very small, then as they get older and require less time spent with them a nanny housekeeper. Some nannies are keen to stay with a family for a long period of time and to adapt to the families needs as they grow taking on more responsibilities in the home. If you are looking for a nanny who is happy to adapt over time. Ensure you talk about future duties including deep cleaning of the whole home at interview.
Working with an agency such as Polo & Tweed can be helpful in finding the right person, a good agency will take all the stress out of the process. They will ensure you only see the best applications which match what you are looking for. This saves you all the time of sifting through irrelevant and poor applications. A good agency will have checked references before you ever meet someone so you know they are worth while interviewing. The agency will also guide you through the whole process offering support along the way. So that you can focus on finding the right person to work with you in the quickest most efficient and stress free way. If you would like Polo & Tweed to help you find the perfect nanny or nanny housekeeper do get in touch here or call +44(0)203 858 0233 we place staff internationally and are always happy to speak.